Junked vehicles top commissioners' agenda

Nancy McCleary, The Sanford Herald, N.C.
·2 min read

Feb. 14—A discussion of an ordinance to regulate abandoned or junked vehicles is on the agenda of Monday's meeting of the Lee County Board of Commissioners.

The regular meeting of the commissioners will begin at 7 p.m., following a joint meeting with the Lee County School Board which begins at 6 p.m.

In January, Commissioner Cameron Sharpe said he had received a complaint about junked vehicles — many of them without a license plate — on a property on N.C. 78.

Abandoned and junked vehicles are not regulated as part of development ordinances in the county, Sanford or Broadway, according to a memo to commissioners from Whitney Parrish, the county's lawyer.

The city of Sanford does have a nuisance ordinance preventing junked vehicles on property. The ordinance defines nuisance vehicles as those that collect pools or ponds of water that can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, insects, rats and vermin; those that have a concentration of gasoline, oil or flammable matter that emits a detectable odor; or those kept in a manner in which they could fall or roll over.

The county can adopt an ordinance "prohibiting the abandonment of vehicles on public grounds and private property" within areas governed by the county.

Vehicles that are left on county-owned property can be removed. They cannot be removed from private property without written permission from the owner unless the junked vehicles are causing a health hazard, the memo says.

Parrish has prepared similar ordinances from Buncombe and Durham counties for the commissioners to review.

Sharpe said at the January meeting that he would like the county to take steps to prevent junked vehicles on property, if possible.

Under the city ordinance, junked vehicles are defined as partially dismantled or wrecked, unable to be driven or are worth less than $500. Among the vehicles defined as nuisances in the city limit are those that collect pools or ponds of water that can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, insects, rats and vermin; those that have a concentration of gasoline, oil or flammable matter that emits a detectable odor; or those kept in a manner in which they could fall or roll over.

The joint meeting with the school board will include a discussion on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on schools and the county since the outbreak of COVID-19 a year ago.

Both meetings will be at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center at 1801 Nash St.